HubSpot Conversations

HubSpot Conversations was first announced during INBOUND 2017 and fully rolled out in 2018 as a competitor to other live chat and chatbot solutions such as Drift and Intercom.According to HubSpot “With live chat, team email, and an easy-to-use chatbot builder, HubSpot gives you the messaging tools and context to have personalized conversations with prospects and customers at scale — for free!" Since this initial release, HubSpot has been progressively making updates.Today, HubSpot Conversations includes inboxes for chatbot conversations, live chat, and a shared team email inbox (meaning sales, marketing, and customer service teams can come together in one place to view and manage all conversations).In the past six months alone, they have even released updates such as consolidating the targeting and messaging workflows into one place in the portal, adding the ability to use file attachments, and adding a mobile-optimized chat widget.However, the tool is still not quite up to par with its competitors.To understand exactly how it works, IMPACT converted our entire website chatbot and live chat functionality to HubSpot Conversations at the beginning of 2019.After three months of setting up and using the tool, I’ve learned quite a bit.So, here is an honest review of HubSpot Conversations and what you need to know if you decide to use it.Important Things to Know About HubSpot ConversationsBefore we dive into the pros and cons, there are a few things you need to know about HubSpot Conversations.First, different tools refer to the set of steps in the conversation setup as different things. Drift calls them playbooks and HubSpot calls them chatflows.Chatflows are the workflow-like steps you can set up on the back end to help visitors interact with your bot and eventually be connected to a customer service representative if needed.Second, while most conversational best practices say that you should create chatbots with a “way out” for visitors to get in contact with a human if the bot cannot help them; HubSpot’s tool is not built with this idea in mind.You can work around the default settings to get a bot to turn into a live chat conversation, however, when you first start building your chatflows in HubSpot, you’ll be asked to choose between setting up live chat and building a bot.Plus, if you want to create a bot that does anything other than qualify leads or book a meeting, you’ll need to create a bot from one of the HubSpot templates and then delete all the actions to start from scratch.When you build a new chatflow you can choose from the above options.When creating a new chatflow in HubSpot you can choose either live chat or one of the bot options.Finally, there is some important permission information to note.Only users with Admin access can create and edit chatflows and only Service Hub users can create support bots.If you want to route a conversation to a specific person using the routing rules, they need to have a paid Sales Hub or Service Hub seat.Alright, with that out of the way,

Let’s dive into the pros and cons of HubSpot Conversations.Pros of Using HubSpot ConversationsThe All-In-One FactorOne of the most obvious benefits of HubSpot Conversations is it’s yet another tool right within HubSpot. This means you don’t have to learn much to use it because it looks and feels like most other HubSpot tools.Plus, it’s already closely integrated to your contact database and the chat transcripts automatically save to the contact record of known contacts.You’ll also save time because you won’t have to create and onboard accounts for team members who need to assist in responding to conversations.Finally, you can personalize chatbot conversations with data from contact properties in your database.Personalize your chatbot replies by adding contact or company information.Simple Visual Chatflow BuilderBuilding chatflows in the chatflow builder is very visual and fairly easy. You can create custom messages, quick replies for visitors to choose from, and more, though it does get challenging when you want to go back into a previous set of responses as there is no “back” option.You’ll also find that the more complex your chatflow becomes, the harder it is to manage.If you want to allow visitors to dive into a topic and then go back to the beginning and be presented with the same original options, then you’ll have to recreate the if/then logic each time even though you can reuse your responses.Using Conversations to Trigger WorkflowsSince the tool is part of HubSpot, you can enroll someone in a workflow from a chatflow conversation.Here’s what it looks like when you enroll a contact in a workflow.This means you can deliver content directly on a page without sending someone to a subsequent landing page with a form and then a thank you page.You can capture someone's email (or any other information) via the bot, log it to the contact record, and enroll the contact in a workflow that sends the content and any follow up information.Note: enrolling contacts in a workflow from a chatflow is available to professional and enterprise HubSpot accounts only. Calendar Booking is Easy and BeautifulThere’s no question that booking meetings in a chat built with HubSpot Conversations is one of its best attributes. Simply link up a meetings URL to a step in your chatflow and the bot will automatically take care of the rest.This is what it looks like when a visitor sets up a meeting using your chatbot.There are, of course, a few stipulations. If you have GDPR settings enabled for your meetings link, you will need to turn it off for the link you use in chat.Fortunately, the GDPR functionality is available directly within chat and is the same as the rest of HubSpot.If you do not turn off GDPR on your meetings link, your bot cannot schedule the meeting and will prompt visitors to open your meeting URL in another window to complete the booking process.You also cannot have any custom fields on your meetings link for it to work in HubSpot Conversations. However, you can ask for information

That absolutely nothing you create in one chatflow is available in another one.This means if you build out an entire chatflow with questions, quick replies, answers, and calendar links - you can’t use it again in another bot.You can use it in the same chatflow in a new branch but you cannot use it in another chatflow. You’re also not able to clone and edit a message or reply. Furthermore, when you assign a message to a team member, you cannot reuse the messages for each of the three required responses.You have to rewrite them every time. I highly recommend having multiple windows open and being ready to copy and paste.Snippets Are Global and UnorganizedA common feature in many live chat tools is the ability to quickly insert saved replies to questions you find yourself answering frequently.In HubSpot Conversations, you use “snippets” for this. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only place snippets are used.If your sales team is also using snippets, you’ll see them all when you try to use a snippet in a chat reply. As most teams have multiple users all creating snippets, it can be really difficult to find the one you’re looking for quickly (especially in a live chat when time is of the essence.) Any folders built into the snippets tool will not show up when using a snippet via the # shortcut in a conversation.We made this a bit easier by naming every snippet intended for chat use with “chat” in the beginning. This means we can type #chat and start to find the one we’re looking for a little more easily.It’s also worth noting that personalization tokens in snippets will not work in conversations.How HubSpot Conversations Compares to Other ToolsThere are many options out there for live chat and chatbot functionality on websites. Here are just a few of the most common chat tools available:Olark (free - $12 per month)Pure Chat (free - $79 per month)LiveChat ($16-149 per month)SnapEngage ($60-420 per month)Intercom ($136-custom per month)Drift (free - $1,500 per month)Of course, some are more comprehensive and robust than others.In addition to more features, the more expensive chat tools typically come with integration functionality.While a free tool, like Conversations, can be a great place to start, when it comes to 1:1 conversations with clients and prospects, you want to integrate with your contact database.Without that, you miss an opportunity to build your relationship with prospects and you may leave customers feeling like you don’t care enough about them to know who they are."What we love most about conversations is the native integration into the HubSpot ecosystem. There are many more tools that are more mature out there on the market but the price point is steep especially for a company who is already investing in HubSpot so it makes sense to use the tools that are designed to work together.” - Brian, Leimone, HubSpot Conversations user and CEO at NuShould You Use HubSpot Conversations?So, what’s the verdict? It’s been over 18 months since the tool

Customer Hub is now Service Hub! Learn more here. HubSpot announced today that it will be adding a new product line to its platform: HubSpot Customer Hub. The addition of the Customer Hub means the HubSpot platform, which also includes CRM, sales, and marketing tools, will enable companies to improve the entire customer experience, from end to end.According to Harvard Business Review, it can be up to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. Customer delight has always been an essential part of the inbound methodology, but most scale ups still struggle to find the right tools and methodology to provide their customers with world-class support and turn them into brand promoters. It’s essential that growing companies have access to all of their customer data in one place to provide a more personalized, streamlined experience. Unfortunately, the majority of customer service tools on the market today are built for the enterprise and focus solely on reducing customer service time. While these tactics provide scale for big teams, they don’t help customers achieve success. Customer Hub will put the customer at the center and gives growth companies the full context of every customer interaction so they can easily provide a more delightful service and support experience. “Let’s face it – too often, companies pay lip-service to customer service and success. Customers are the lifeblood of a successful business, and based on the experience you provide them, they can be your biggest advocates, or your loudest detractors,” said Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot. “With Customer Hub, businesses can now rally their teams around the customer, allowing them to have better conversations, develop deeper customer insights, and strengthen their relationship with your business.”Customer Hub will make it easy for companies to understand, respond, and grow through the success of their customers. In addition to the standard features we’ve all come to expect from customer service tools (customer inquiry management, live chat, ticket escalation, etc.), Customer Hub will also enable teams to:Keep a pulse on customer happiness with automated customer feedback and NPSEasily identify and respond to issues using sentiment analysis and churn forecastingAutomate customer testimonial captures from your most loyal and happy customersHelp customers help themselves with a robust knowledge centerFinally, since Customer Hub is built on HubSpot CRM Free, customers will also get access to HubSpot’s free marketing and sales tools, allowing them to deliver a complete inbound experience across all teams. This includes HubSpot Conversations, HubSpot’s new solution for one-to-one messaging. Conversations is a great first step towards enabling businesses to have more meaningful interactions with their customers and prospects. Customer Hub will be available in 2018. Pricing and packaging will be determined at that date.To learn more about all of the announcements HubSpot made at #INBOUND17, please visit hubspot.com/new. Originally published Sep 26, 2017 5:00:00 PM, updated January 19 2023

Participant | Gold Partner Instagram messages in HubSpot conversations Here’s a quick rundown of what our HubSpot Instagram DM integration can do:1. Automated DM Logging:Every Instagram DM gets automatically logged in HubSpot contact records—just like native SMS integrations. Each DM shows up as an activity (note) with the message text and date, keeping your contact history neat and complete.2. Tracking & Reporting:Track DM interactions like a pro. Our integration stores key data—number of DMs and interaction dates—in custom properties, making reporting and analysis simple.3. Contact Matching Without Email:No email? No problem. We match DMs using the Instagram handle or HubSpot Record ID. If there’s no match, we create a new contact, and once an email comes through, you can merge the records manually.4. Custom Cards in HubSpot:Get a clean, at-a-glance view of DM activity right inside HubSpot with a custom card in the contact record sidebar—works similarly to Zendesk's integration. Everything you need in one place, zero hassle.Also, we can build anything custom as well.Questions? Feel free to reach out! Mark as New Bookmark Subscribe Mute Subscribe to RSS Feed Permalink Print Report Inappropriate Content

01. Human + AI-Powered Dialing Experience 10x more conversations per hour with Human + AI Synergy. Our patented technology eliminates the tedious tasks of manual dialing and navigating complex phone systems. Your reps are instantly connected with real people—no more wasted time on voicemail, gatekeepers, or phone trees. This streamlined approach accelerates your sales cycle and ensures that reps spend more time having high-value conversations with decision-makers. 02. Seamless CRM Integration Salesforce: Fully integrated for seamless CRM updates and management of leads, contacts, and opportunities. HubSpot: Automatically sync sales activities to HubSpot, enabling smooth communication between your marketing and sales teams. Microsoft Dynamics: Capture valuable sales data with real-time synchronization to Dynamics, improving your workflow and pipeline management. 03. Effortless Sales Orchestration Outreach: Easily synchronize call logs, task management, and follow-up scheduling to keep your reps organized and on track with automated engagement strategies. Salesloft: Sync with your Salesloft cadence, ensuring that reps have the tools they need to connect and follow up at the right time with the right messaging. 04. Advanced Conversation Intelligence Gong: Analyze every call to uncover trends, optimize messaging, and identify opportunities for coaching in real-time. Chorus: Unlock deep insights into your team’s calls and coaching opportunities, ensuring a data-driven approach to improving sales conversations. 05. Real-Time Analytics & Reporting Customizable Dashboards: Track metrics that matter most to your business, from conversation volume to lead conversion rates. Live Call Monitoring: View real-time performance metrics, allowing managers to coach reps on the spot and improve performance immediately.